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English Translation

lit.: to pull sprouts to help them grow
fig.: to spoil things through excessive enthusiasm

Breaking it down

1. 拔: to pull out
2. 苗: young plant, sprout, to ponder
3. 助: to help, assist
4. 长: to grow, develop

Source: Google Image Search

Story in Chinese

Classical Chinese

宋人有闵其苗之不长而揠之者，芒芒然归，谓其人曰：“今日病矣！予助苗长矣！”其子趋而往视之，苗则槁矣。
天下之不助苗长者寡矣。以为无益而舍之者，不耘苗者也；助之长者，揠苗者也。非徒无益，而又害之。（出自《孟子·公孙丑上》）

Modern Chinese

古时候有个人，希望自己田里的禾苗长的快点，天天到田边去看。 可是，一天、两天、三天，禾苗好像一点也没有长高。
他就在田边焦急的转来转去，自言自语的说：“我得想个办法帮它们长。”一天，他终于想到了办法，就急忙跑到田里，把禾苗一棵一棵往高里拔。从中午一直忙到太阳落山，弄得精疲力尽。 当他回到家里时，一边喘气一边对儿子说：“可把我累坏了，力气没白费，禾苗都长了一大截。” 他的儿子不明白是怎么回事，跑到田里一看，发现禾苗都枯死了。

Source: baike.baidu.com

Story in English

There once was a man who hoped that the seedlings in his field would grow faster, and so he would visit the field each day. But one day passed, then two, then three, and it seemed like the seedlings did not grow at all.
He went anxiously around the field, and said to himself: "I need to find a way to help the seedlings grow." So one day, he thought of an idea, ran to the field, and pulled each seedlings up. He worked from noon until sunset, until he was completely exhausted.
When he came back, breathing heavily, he said to his son: "I am exhausted, but it wasn't for nothing, the seedlings grew a lot."
His son did not understand what was going on, so went to the field to see and found that all the seedlings were dead.

Translation by Celine Li

Usage

用这种方式教育孩子无异于拔苗助长.